Meet John Derrick

John Derrick is an experienced appellate lawyer who since 2005 has litigated around 200 appeals and writs, including many resulting in published decisions. Once, he obtained five reversals in quick succession in a 12-month period. Today, John consults in appeals where other lawyers take the lead role, both to assist the lawyers and help the parties make decisions. He is also a mediator.

Like most appellate specialists, John is a subject matter generalist — so he can bring his appellate expertise to a wide range of cases. His specialization is in the art of the appeal.

John is certified as a Specialist in Appellate Law by the State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization. He is also a 2024 Southern California SuperLawyer, described as “an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice” and given to only five percent of attorneys in California.

John received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy, politics and economics in Britain from the University of Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours, the highest class of undergraduate degree awarded by that university.

John was the 2014-2015 Chair of the California State Bar’s Standing Committee on Appellate Courts, and from 2011-2013, he served as Editor-in-Chief of California Litigation, the journal of the Litigation Section of the State Bar. He later served on the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section of the California Lawyers Association. In addition, John is an appointed member of the Second District Court of Appeal’s mediation panel. And he serves as a Settlement Master for the Santa Barbara Superior Court.

John has frequently lectured to other lawyers throughout the state on appellate matters and taken part in panel discussions at continuing legal education events. He once led a panel at the Appellate Judges Education Institute on the subject of “Cost-Effective Appeals.” He has also taught as a practitioner-advisor in the Berkeley Law Appellate Advocacy program, tutoring some of the nation’s brightest law students in the art of brief writing and oral argument.

Before entering the legal profession, John co-founded, operated, and eventually sold a specialized information publishing business in the UK and then in the US. He combined the role of publisher and editor, making it his mission to present complex analysis and data in as readable a style as possible. During his business years, he took a year out to serve as Special Adviser to the Energy Secretary in the UK Cabinet.